In 2017, Fiona, 35, went on a world tour in a nasturtium with her grandmother Dominique, then 100 years old. While the doctors told her that she only had a few days to live, she regained her taste for life. Told in a book, this unique journey will soon be adapted for cinema.
Fiona was 35 years old in 2017 when doctors told her that her grandmother Dominique, aged 100, did not have a few days to live. Even if the understanding was not necessarily cordial and relations rather distended, the granddaughter, very family-oriented, made an unusual proposal to her maternal grandmother.
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A trip around the world in a motorhome
“I suggested that we go on a trip around the world in a campervan. We had an old Hymer nasturtium with 200,000 km on the clock which was no longer useful at the bottom of the garden.”
An impossible journey?
Although his parents have always been traveling, they did not take his proposal seriously. “What, you want to put my mom in a camper? It’s impossible. She is incontinent.”
A first test in a campervan
Before going abroad, the little family first took a short experimental trip. “We went to do a forty-day test. She broke her nose! When the hail fell, she thought of bombings!” But these adventures have not cooled them down.
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Southern countries
From January 2019 until the end of June 2020, Fiona and her grandmother traveled the roads of the south of France, then those of Andorra, Spain and Portugal, with Morocco as their objective. But the Hymer campervan proved to be a little too cramped. “In June 2019, I bought a new Rimor overcab for €45,000, with two bunk beds in the rear and two dinette areas. The walker passed through the middle of the vehicle. It was perfect. I slept in the overcab and she on the dinette bed.”
A swimming pool for showering
Not only do you need space to be able to move around in the camper van, but it must also be adapted to the different constraints imposed by traveling with a very elderly person. “I had to take care of it, wash it with a spout and change it. We had to install a swimming pool in the middle of the camper for the shower.”
Many anecdotes
But nothing is impossible for Fiona who is full of anecdotes. “One day we left the chair outside. At 7 a.m., I heard a noise. I came out with my hair disheveled, the thieves left. You can have first times at any age. We even found ourselves in a refugee camp for several days. When it rained, she said “it doesn’t matter, we’ll do that another time.” She got up around 9-10am. I adapted to his rhythm. We did 10 km a day. We took the time to live. It depended on what he wanted.”
“It kept her alive”
Above all, the granddaughter realizes that her grandmother is regaining a taste for life. “She was getting better and better. She was coming back to life. She celebrated her 102nd and 103rd birthdays in the camper van. According to doctors, she had sliding syndrome. It’s when you no longer find any interest in life, that you no longer have any perspective, no future. It kept her alive. She was still at home until she was 99, then in SSR (follow-up care and rehabilitation) before we left. The links were recreated.”
Covid: a halt
Then the arrival of Covid put an end to this beautiful story. “The lockdowns stopped our journey. We remained confined in a village near Valence. However, she wanted to make all the countries of Europe into “ie”: Italy, Romania, Russia…” She finally died a few days later, on June 29, 2020.
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A book, then a film
This story had such an impact on her that Fiona wanted to tell it in a book. “101 years old, grandma goes on the road” has sold more than 50,000 copies. It has even been translated and will be adapted for the screen in 2025.” Since this road trip, the forty-year-old has continued to tell her story with passion and regularly gives conferences across France, such as at the 2024 Leisure Vehicle Show. “My story has taken me around the world.”
Lots of questions
It also appeals to many people. “How could a granddaughter who had no connection with her grandmother do this? How is it possible to go with an elderly person with no experience? With what means?” And Fiona responds without tongue in cheek: “I learned on the job. I have touched everything and am passionate about everything. Money? I put some aside. I also bought two small apartments in Vendée which allowed me to have a small income. It’s a different rhythm of life. We can live on €1000 per month. There are lots of things that don’t require payment, lots of free areas in France and abroad. You have to make choices.”
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Better support for older people
Beyond a beautiful story between a granddaughter and her grandmother, the goal is also to raise awareness among public authorities of the problems encountered by elderly people. “We no longer know what to do with the elderly. We say it costs us money, but we don’t try to find out how to do it. We could create links between generations so that they can go in a campervan, for example.”
A petition and a large community
Fiona even launched a petition entitled “Keep life to the end, even with dentures” to raise awareness among as many people as possible. She thus collected more than 12,000 signatures. And its Facebook page brings together a large, close-knit community. “People are taking an example from us. A soldier left with his grandmother and her children. He thanked us because it changed his life!”
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